Rapid reactions: Cardinals dug too deep a hole in loss to 49ers

The pressure on Purdy was non-existent; he wasn’t sacked once and was hit only three times. The Cards’ secondary, minus Will Johnson, struggled to cover. The run defense was brutal as the 49ers ran for 140 yards and 6.1 yards per carry. The 49ers scored with ease at the end of the first half, and then later when the Cards managed to make it a game, the unit couldn’t muster the slightest bit of an obstacle. It is the realization of our worst fears. The defensive coordinator was brought back for reasons that didn’t make sense then and certainly don’t now. A few additions were made (Roy Lopez, Jack Gibbens, Andrew Wingard), but for the most part this is the same bunch that was torched last year.

The hope was that the return of Mack Wilson Sr. would galvanize the group, but that has yet to consistently materialize. Maybe the 49ers are one of the best offenses in the NFL, and maybe it won’t be like this when they play lesser talent. But for now, it can’t be a surprise that the defense they paid little attention to this offseason continues to be the reason they’re losing games.

Which is a shame because on the other side they’re showing some things; there is too much talent on that side of the ball for them not to. Down 23-6, the offense found their groove and made it a two-point game. Jeremiyah Love just made his case for more. Maybe Marvin Harrison Jr. did as well, but make no mistake … Jacoby Brissett really likes throwing the ball to Trey McBride and Michael Wilson. Good luck convincing him not to.

This offense is going to give them chances to win more games than some expect. I have no doubt about that. But their defense is going to keep them from being a true surprise this season. Just like we all thought.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta:

In a 36-30 loss, the Cardinals kept it closer than I thought they would, but the NFL is no place for baby steps or moral victories.

The offensive game plan is becoming clear: dominate time of possession with a just-productive-enough running game and a monotonous short passing game to keep a really shaky defense off the field. And it still didn’t work on Sunday. The Cardinals had the ball 17:28 longer than the 49ers and ran 31 more offensive plays, and the defense still yielded 36 points and 437 yards.

Offensively, the lack of explosive plays is glaring. The Cardinals have run exactly 200 plays from scrimmage this season. Two of them have gone for more than 19 yards — and both of those came in the Week 1 win over the Chargers.

Positively, Jeremiyah Love looked good in the first “starting” role of his pro career with 90 yards on 21 carries. Trey McBride and Michael Wilson were both very productive when called upon.

We suspected the pass rush was going to be a problem, and it was — just not for the opposition. Nick Rallis’ group didn’t produce a sack or much pressure at all on Brock Purdy.

Sunday’s loss wasn’t without promising ingredients, and maybe the Cardinals can use this formula next week when, thankfully, they’re not playing an NFC West opponent.

Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports Cardinals reporter and Cardinals Corner co-host:

The Cardinals went from blowout territory to near comeback in the span of four quarters on Sunday.

And while it was a great showing of resolve in the second half to make things a lot closer than they were, I can’t get over just how rough the first half looked.

Penalties again were a primary issue for a team that has preached clean play and operation day in and day out. The results say otherwise.

The defense, meanwhile, is not helping keep the heat off coordinator Nick Rallis’ seat.

For a third straight week, the Cardinals allowed an opening-drive touchdown. Hard to create momentum when you’re instantly giving it to the opposition.

That being said, I did like the usage of Love this week. He actually looked like the No. 3 overall pick with the number of touches he saw in Santa Clara. More of that moving forward.

I also thought the overall resolve of the franchise was on display in the second half. That’s a sign the buy-in under LaFleur is there.

But as LaFleur said postgame, there are no moral victories in the NFL.